Matching Items (204)
Description
This thesis analyzes budgetary documents of the State of Arizona relating to education spending as well as East Valley school districts to examine the extent of reductions in state funding for K-12 education since the beginning of the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Previous research has found that Arizona ranks in the very bottom tier of states in education spending. Moreover, Arizona has cut per-pupil spending by a higher percentage than forty-seven other states. To assess the effects of these cuts, I determine both their magnitude in the aggregate as well as their significance to individual school districts. In the first chapter, I explain the school finance formula to provide a foundation for my analysis, scrutinize the last nine budgets of the Arizona Department of Education to measure annual changes in funding, chronicle the inflation-funding lawsuit to gauge the quantity of funds withheld, rather than cut, from schools, and sum the value of reduced and suspended funding to discover the total cost of these decisions. In the second chapter, I compile data from the budgets of East Valley school districts covering the last eight recorded years to discern and compare annual changes in revenue from the state, aggregate teacher salaries, and the number of teachers employed. Looking ahead, the conclusion discusses public opinion on education funding and the enacted budget for the coming fiscal year, FY 2016. In conjunction, these sections convey both a comprehensive history of the decisions made by our public officials that have affected public education in Arizona and an analysis of the consequences of those decisions.
ContributorsStumpf, Austin Robert (Author) / Herrera, Richard (Thesis director) / Jones, Ruth (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Looking into the school community cohesion and how refugee youth integrate into schools is important when addressing refugee resettlement issues at large. It is important that school community identity (SCI) formation for refugee high school youth is understood in order to develop school programs that can better assist integration process of refugee families. Looking at high school refugee youth from Arizona a model was created that better displays the specifics this study found when dealing with this population. Unlike non-refugee high school youth, refugee youth do not develop school community cohesion through voice, resonance, or empowerment like other studies have shown. This study shows that they must first develop a SCI before they can have a strong school community presence. School community identity is an important first step that facilitates sense of school community. Two focus groups were down at the Somali American United Council, and from these two groups four common themes surfaced: faculty support, emotional security, cultural understanding, and partnership/collaboration. Using these themes a refugee school identity model was created to represent the data collected. The participants in the focus group often told stories and used phrases that indicated a lack of identity in their school, and no claims to a need of a voice within their school community was mentioned. This indicates that refugee students need an identity within their school community before they will express a need for voice or influence.
ContributorsReiswig, Clinton Gene (Author) / Klimek, Barbara (Thesis director) / Zayas, Luis (Committee member) / Sambe, Pape (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Letters and Sciences (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / School of Social Work (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
In 2016, the news of the protests at Standing Rock broke through the nation. The Sioux Falls tribe of North Dakota embarked on a fight to protect their sacred lands and water from potential desecration and pollution. The documentary film, Awake, a Dream from Standing Rock, was released the following year depicting the resistance movement created at the camps at Standing Rock. This film became the subject matter for my project in which a film screening followed by a post-show discussion to explore the resistance movement and creative choices of the film as they pertain to indigenous rights, climate change, and corporations. The panel included Leroy Hollenback, a corporate social responsibility director from a Global 500 company, and Monte Yazzie, a Phoenix activist and film critic. The panel analyzed the artistic choices the filmmakers took and how that shaped the message of the film. Furthermore, the panel discussed what policy implications the film brought to light. In the end, indigenous resistance in efforts to protect Earth's biodiversity is present globally, making Standing Rock a modern case study that can instruct future movements.
ContributorsSalas, Anna C. (Author) / Sandoval, Mathew (Thesis director) / Hsueh, Lily (Committee member) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The fight for climate justice has been ongoing for decades. However, in a recent effort to address climate change, U.S. congressional leaders Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts proposed a resolution known as the Green New Deal (GND). Though congress defeated the proposal, the policy changes envisioned within it have gained political momentum from states and municipalities. So much so, municipalities in the United States have decided to implement their own versions of the GND proposal. Throughout this paper, I analyze the components of three nationally recognized climate proposals that offer a unique approach to actualize the federal GND objectives: New York City's Climate Mobilization Act, Los Angeles's Green New Deal – Sustainable City pLAn, and Seattle's Green New Deal. From these proposals, I draw comparisons to Tempe's Climate Action plan to evaluate their efforts. Though this paper is primarily focused on analyzing the components of municipal GNDs across the nation, this paper also contends that municipalities' are a necessary complement to national efforts in mitigating climate change.
ContributorsMazariegos, Ashley (Author) / Fong, Benjamin Y. (Thesis director) / Calhoun, Craig (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
Description
Career development is an integral part of any undergraduate experience as it helps students to really focus in on what they want to pursue in their future and helps make sure they are completing all the necessary steps to get there. One key step of the career development process is the internship. Securing an internship during college allows students to test-drive their chosen field of study to discover what they like and what they don’t like about the field, network with professionals already in the field, and practice applying classroom knowledge to real life. ASU has assisted students with this step of the career development process by including an internship requirement for a handful of degree programs. While this is a really great requirement in order to make sure students are prepared for the real world, ASU’s resolve to only give students credit for the traditional internships that they take part in is becoming incredibly detrimental to the learning experience of students as their options, especially in the pandemic world we currently find ourselves in, are increasingly limited. Finding an internship to fulfill this requirement is harder than it has ever been. Organizations simply don’t have internship spots available, and the organizations that do have very limited hands-on work experiences that they’re able to provide their interns with. One solution to this is providing on-campus student leaders the option to get class credit towards their degree for the work they do in their positions. The career development and experience that student leaders receive when they’re in their on-campus positions is virtually unparalleled in any traditional internship setting and should be treated as such in our academic society. If we were able to change the way society views the traditional internship, not only would this help alleviate some of the stress our student leaders feel when searching for and completing an internship during this time, but it would also encourage students to return to campus and participate in the ASU community in a positive way.
ContributorsPineau, Rebecca Elizabeth (Author) / Gonsher, Geoffrey (Thesis director) / Flora, Mary (Committee member) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
Description
The design and intent of this research proposal was unknowingly established during my first semester at Arizona State University. Dr. John Hepburn, my Introduction to Criminology professor at the time, and I created an honors contract where I would be conducting a qualitative research project with the municipality of Chandler, Arizona. This encompassed two main components: 28 hours of ride-alongs with the Chandler Police Department during their over-night shifts and, secondly, four additional hours observing the criminal courts at Chandler Municipal Court. This entailed the very start of my first-hand exposure to the American—and more specifically the Arizona—criminal justice system. At the conclusion of this experience, the need for reform and equity within our current criminal justice system divulged. Thus, I was inspired to dedicate the prompt of my honors thesis project to the Arizona criminal justice system and the Arizona community.
As my academic career progressed at ASU, I witnessed the Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter movements emerge, accompanied with a polarization between communities and U.S. law enforcement. This exposure led the mission of my honors thesis project towards helping alleviate those tensions. With the help of my committee, I found it most appropriate to investigate the community-police programs that already exist and seeing how communities across the states can develop not a single community police program but develop a mechanism for tailoring and modernizing programs as needed.
As my academic career progressed at ASU, I witnessed the Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter movements emerge, accompanied with a polarization between communities and U.S. law enforcement. This exposure led the mission of my honors thesis project towards helping alleviate those tensions. With the help of my committee, I found it most appropriate to investigate the community-police programs that already exist and seeing how communities across the states can develop not a single community police program but develop a mechanism for tailoring and modernizing programs as needed.
ContributorsHernandez, Daisy (Author) / Hepburn, John (Thesis director) / Robinson, Kevin (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) is a telemedicine knowledge sharing hub for clinicians, managers, administrators, and other health-care providers that integrates physical and behavioral health in underserved areas. The importance of behavioral health integration is that it allows providers to target complex conditions. For example, the top ten causes of morbidity and mortality in the US have modifiable behavioral factors and unhealthy lifestyles (Mokdad et al., 2004). This health care has the potential to increase quality healthcare and accessibility to health while decreasing health care costs. ECHO participants gain better patient care skills, professional development, sharing new knowledge, and an opportunity to develop a community of learning. Despite the potential benefits, participation in ASU ECHO has been declining. This study assesses the barriers and facilitators to participation. The results suggest that the biggest barrier for participants is time and a facilitator for this is calendar technology like outlook.
ContributorsAbdelhabib, Tabark B (Author) / Martin, Matthew (Thesis director) / Manson, Lesley (Committee member) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Over the last 30 years, the public has become somewhat less willing to accept the “feminist” label. However, most Americans indicate support for general feminist ideals. In fact, many of these ideals have become so prevalent in American culture that they are not considered feminist anymore. This thesis will examine the reason behind this disparity and analyze where public opinion began to shift. The disparity between the definition of feminism and the definition perceived by the public will be explored along with the idea that the American people still want and need a “feminist movement,” but that its current state is not resonating with the majority of the public.
ContributorsKasle, Lauren Jessica (Author) / Lennon, Tara (Thesis director) / Woodall, Gina (Committee member) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Mental illness creates a unique challenge for police. Changes in medical infrastructure have left many mentally ill without adequate access to resources or treatment. They often face additional challenges of substance abuse and homelessness. This has led to increasingly frequent contact with police and a shift from mental illness being treated as a health problem to being treated as a police problem. Police are unable to provide treatment, and are frustrated by the amount of their time consumed by persons with mental illness (PMI) and by the amount of time and effort it takes to connect them with treatment. Due to the unpredictable behavior often caused by mental illness and the way police are trained to deal with uncooperative behavior, persons suffering from mental illness are subject to the use of force by police at a disproportionate rate. Police are trying to combat these problems with the implementation of advanced training and the development of Crisis Intervention Teams and Mobile Response Units, as well as increasing connections with local medical facilities to promote treatment over arrest. Other strategies have been experimented with, both in the United States and across the globe, but there is currently a limited amount of research on how effective these programs are. Anecdotally, the most successful programs seem to be those that take a comprehensive approach to mental illness, creating solutions that include police, medical facilities, courts, dispatchers, first responders, and the community. Due to the limits of programs confined to one institution, it is recommended that treatment be expanded and police receive advanced training in dealing with mentally ill people, as well as involving others in the criminal justice and medical communities so that they provide a coordinated response to PMI.
ContributorsMcveety, Matthew James (Author) / Fradella, Hank (Thesis director) / Scott, Michael (Committee member) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
There are certain clear-cut instances where speech is used only to harm, where the context of the situation does not affect or alter the meaning. These instances, however, are rare. The issue presented in Matal v. Tam (2017) highlights the government’s inability to, and difficulty in, attempting to prohibit assumed offensive content. This thesis argues that even in the rare and overt instances, the government is required to abstain from regulating hate speech, and that the government will not be able to successfully adopt advocate proposed hate-speech regulations. This thesis embraces the concept of precedent as the most binding force in First Amendment questions. It also begins argumentation at the most important era of First Amendment issues, and then analyzes numerous cases spanning nearly one hundred years. Utilizing case rulings, this thesis examines the American social context, as well as academic and historical writings, throughout the past century. Ultimately, this thesis finds that the decision in Matal was not surprising, and that it supports a contemporary First Amendment jurisprudence that believes in a strong divide between the government and private speech. The implications of Matal have been almost immediate, with several lawsuits being decided or brought to court based on the precedent. The decision implies that hate-speech regulations, already given little credence, will share a similar outcome to the law in Matal.
ContributorsSmith, Case Hilliard (Author) / Russomanno, Joseph (Thesis director) / Russell, Dennis (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05